You could be excused for not being familiar with one of our newer laws, the Regulation of Interception of Communication and Provision of Communication-related Information Act, to which we will refer as the RIC Act for reasons of sanity.

That is a fairly recent name for a piece of legislation that has been inching its way through Parliament since 2001. When it last came to public attention it was still known as the Regulation of Interception of Communications Bill, and that was not its first name either.

The RIC Act has had some help in staying out of the spotlight. It was signed into life by President Thabo Mbeki on 30 December, when just about all of South Africa was very much on holiday. (Rumours that it was signed at midnight inside a pentagram of candles could not be confirmed.) As a result, the better part of a month passed before the final Act was publicly available.